


Prisoner Princess

by KrysImeteriHikari



Series: Anon Requests 2015 [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting, Gen, I Don't Even Know, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Murder, Yuuri straight up card murders someone, would this even count as canon typical violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:47:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22260544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysImeteriHikari/pseuds/KrysImeteriHikari
Summary: “You’re… you’re lying! There’s no way anyone could have-!”Yuuri quietly reached into his jacket pocket, his slim fingers pulling out a card, holding it’s back towards her, stunning her to silence.“Do you wish to find out?” he said quietly, “who it was that said those terrible things about you?”Ruri couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. On the other side of that card was someone she had trusted, someone that had been with her in Heartland, and yet…She could feel her heart dropping into her stomach.--------Ruri is trying her best to make the most of her poor situation. Yuuri decides to make things worse.Anon Request from tumblr.
Series: Anon Requests 2015 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602400





	Prisoner Princess

There was only one place she felt safe in this godforsaken dimension. A place where the soldiers couldn’t get to her. The windows were high and locked, she could barricade the door, and she didn’t have to hear anything but the sound of running water. She was away from the soldiers, away from prying and curious eyes, and especially away from him. The one that had Yuuto’s face, the one that took sick pleasure at degrading her, using flowery words as if it would mask the insults he was spewing. She saw him three times a day now, after the incident of her starving herself. Leo Akaba hadn’t liked that, apparently, so he put her captor on an eating regimen, to make sure she was properly eating and not getting any ideas of regurgitating the food to make herself sick.

She had figured they wouldn’t poison her, after all the effort it took to capture and keep her here. It would be pointless to kill her here when they could have done so back in Heartland. Though why she was being kept here was still a mystery. What did they want with her? What was so important about her that kept her safe from carding? Not to mention keeping her ‘healthy’, for whatever it was they wanted her for.

She sighed and returned to her task, washing her clothes in the bathtub. They may have taken her Duel Disk and her cards, but she would not let them get away with her clothes. It may be the only set she had, but she wouldn’t dare let any Fusion scum touch them. It gave her her identity, reminding her of who she was. Without them, she would be lost. And that was the last thing she wanted.

They had provided her with a new set of clothes, long dresses that were pretty if she was completely honest, but she had blatantly refused to wear them. Even now, even if it had been provided those Fusion snakes, she had taken to wearing a towel until her clothes dried. It was better than nothing, at least.

Washing her clothes brought back memories, of being with the other girls in the Resistance, how they would watch each others’ backs to make sure there were no boys or soldiers peeping. How they would help to wash each other to make it go by faster. How they would lift each other's spirits if they were thinking too hard, would tease each other when they revealed a secret crush on one of the boys. She remembered quite a few secret confessions about her big brother, bringing a small smile to face at the memory.

Her smile dropped immediately, however, when she heard a knock on the door.

“Good morning, Princess,” a familiar voice said. She could hear the smile on his face, “you know what time it is.”

“I’m still getting dressed!”

“I can stay all day and night if I have to.” He sounded amused as he set the china down on a table, from the sound of it. “But, I can assure you, the food tastes better warm than it does cold.”

Ruri was sure that he didn’t care either way since he wasn’t the one eating it. He would never eat with her, oh no. He was too good to eat with her. It would feel too much like camaraderie, and the last she wanted was to feel comfortable around this guy. He was the reason she was here in the first place!

Unfortunately, her clothes were still dripping wet and, as much as she wanted to go greet him and get everything wet in a quiet form of disobedience, it would mean that she would be stuck with it when he finally did leave. Not to mention she could get sick that way and she did not want any doctors looking at her, not in this dimension. She certainly couldn’t go greet him in her towel either. She had some manners, after all. As if she wanted to let that bastard see her almost naked.

The only thing she had that would be serviceable would be the dress they had provided. She crinkled her nose in disgust.

Well… if it meant that that Fusion snake would leave sooner…

She swallowed hard, both her pride and the lump in her throat as she walked to the closet.

The dress felt soft to the touch, unlike her regular clothes. There were no mismatched patches, no uneven stitching from an unsteady hand, no rips, no tears, no questionable stains. There were no creases in the fabric, it even felt pressed and clean with a light scent, maybe perfume. When was the last time she had seen and touched something this nice? Looking at her drying clothes in comparison, they looked like rags in the face of such refinement.

Still, as exquisite and pretty as the dress was, it felt lifeless, cold, manufactured. It had no personality to it. Even putting it on, feeling its silky smoothness on her skin, it still felt cold and lifeless. She wanted to choke when she looked at herself in the mirror, gawking at her reflection.

This was not a dress that was meant to make her feel pretty. Even if it fit perfectly and she could move and breathe easily, she felt stifled, exposed, and even more naked than when she had been in the towel. She couldn’t find any pockets on the dress, the fabric feeling too soft on her skin. She felt she might tear it if she so much as stepped on the hem.

It was definitely a dress meant for show and not for practicality.

Even so, it was serviceable. She could greet her captor and tear this dress off once he was gone.

There was one thing that was missing, however.

Her lucky red scarf. The one she wore as more as ponytail holder than an actual scarf. The one piece of clothing she had in common with Shun, Yuuto, and everyone back home.

She pulled the fabric strip off the shower rack, holding it close. It had provided her courage in hard times before. Now should be no different.

Despite it still being slightly damp, she still used it to tie back her hair, her bracelet jingling lightly in her ear.

—–

When Ruri finally unlocked the door, the familiar face greeted her with a sly smile. She bit her lip as she swallowed, to remind herself that before her wasn’t the person she truly knew. Yuuto would never smile at her like that. He wouldn’t even look at her like that, and yet… seeing that face, making those kinds of faces and gestures at her…

“I was beginning to worry about you,” he said lightly while coming towards her, “spending so much time in the bathroom, I was beginning to wonder if I would find you swinging with some rope and a misplaced chair.”

“That’s… usually not the first thing people assume when someone takes too long in the bathroom…”

“Oh, should I have assumed something else then?”

Ruri could feel her face and neck heating up. She couldn’t decide if she should be embarrassed by that, or annoyed. Of all the conclusions he could jump to…

Then again, with that cold grin on his face, she couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.

“I must say that you do clean up nicely when you wear proper clothing. I’m impressed.” He pulled out a chair for her at the small table, like a proper gentleman.

“We did provide you with a comb and hairdryer though, didn’t we? Surely you know how to use those, even after all this time…”

“I’m only here to eat, not to be criticized. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll not be enjoying my bread crusts and glass of water, thank you.”

Yuuri huffed out a sound like he had been personally insulted, made totally ineffective by the soft chuckle that followed soon after.

“You break our dear chef’s heart, my dear. He would be quite upset upon hearing you assuming he would provide you with such mediocrity. Only prisoners receive such a substandard meal!”

She crinkled her nose and furrowed her eyebrows. Still, she was in no mood to play his games and instead turned her attention back to the provided meal, indeed more than bread crusts and a glass of water. If anything, it looked like an actual breakfast meal, with eggs, toast, different kinds of fruits, and tea.

Still, she knew better than to trust it completely. Time to play what didn’t the cook spit in this time. Her first safe bet was the fruit being untouched, so she started there.

“Then again, bread and clean water probably was a luxury for you, given the circumstances.”

“Circumstances you imposed on us, you mean.”

“Ah yes. That seems to always slip my mind. Quite a pity, my slippery mind.”

“Can’t you keep your slippery thoughts to yourself for even a few minutes?” she sighed, “I’m trying not to do that throwing up thing you keep thinking I’ll do when you’re not looking.”

He ignored her, turning his eyes to scan the room. He seemed to note that some things were missing around the room, not that Ruri would ever tell where she hid them. It was surprising how many useful things were in the room that she could use. She didn’t spend three years in desolate Heartland and not learn a thing or two about surviving on the bare minimum.

“Hmm… it does make me wonder, though. How would your comrades be fairing right now? When were you brought here again?”

“In spring,” Ruri replied flatly. As if he didn’t know. “Fusion Scum like you are too scared to face Heartland in the winter. You can’t stand the cold.” That much was obvious once she realized her prison was on an island.

“Ah, yes, that it was. So, that would make it… what in Heartland now? Summer? Fall?”

“Don’t ask me. There’s no calendar here or even a clock for me to tell what time it is, or even what day it is.” Not helping was the weather on the island seemed to stay exactly the same. Her sense of time has been messed up since she came to this godforsaken place, among other things.

How long had she been here, really?

He leaned forward, picking up an apple from her breakfast to inspect it.

“Tell me, what would they think of you now? Wearing those clothes and dining like a queen, while they struggle to even find the tiniest of scraps?”

Ruri paused, about to take a sip of the tea.

“…What do you mean?”

“Is it really fair how comfortable you’ve become, yet everyone else you know and care for is struggling to even survive?”

“…Take that back, you bastard.”

“But it is true, is it not? Why else would you have been here so long?”

“Stop it!”

“Of course, there’s also the matter of traveling between the dimensions. I’m sure your comrades have figured it out by now, yet no one has come to rescue the fair princess, have they?”

“That’s a lie!” She was sure everyone was still looking for her frantically, especially Shun and Yuuto.

“Is that so?” Yuuri chuckled. “Well, I’m sure that news from the front will surely cheer you up. Do you know how many more people we’ve carded in the last few weeks?”

“Tell me,” he said, coming in uncomfortably close to her, “how many members were in your little group, you know, before you disappeared? Four? Five?”

“I’d never tell you that!”

“Of course you wouldn’t. You’re too smart and loyal for that, for Xyz scum.”

He paused behind her, giving the most delicate of touches to her red scarf, making her freeze.

“I’ve seen this kind of red scarf before, you know. Your little friend was wearing something similar on his arm, wasn’t he?”

Ruri stood up abruptly, clutching protectively at her scarf. Yuuri was amused.

“Ah, so he was a friend of yours. Fascinating.”

“What do you know about him?”

“Well, there have been reports of red scarves being found in certain areas of Heartland, places that have been long abandoned, even by Xyz scum. It was rather peculiar, having something like that turn up so often. Some were even torn and soiled, abandoned to the four winds.”

“…Why are you telling me this? Red scarves aren’t exactly rare.”

“Ah, but see, here’s where it gets interesting. Remember how I mentioned your little friend? What was his name again?”

Ruri just stared at him darkly.

“Well, he has been spotted a few times by our scouts, but he was missing something in particular.”

Ruri froze. No, Yuuto would never…. He wouldn’t!

“I made a note to the Obelisk Task Force to look for any survivors that were wearing that kind of red scarf, since I’m sure you miss them terribly. And I don’t want you to be lonely, so I made it a mission to find your friends for you. Yet, whenever we caught sight of them, none of them were wearing a red scarf, or even anything red at all.”

“M-maybe they caught wind of your plan and took them off on purpose!”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, dearest.” He sauntered closer to her, circling her.

“We did manage to capture one of them alive. Not your little friend, unfortunately, but this one seemed particularly full of hatred. Especially for you.”

Her eyes widened. Who could have possibly…?

“'Things changed for the better’ they said, 'now that that 'goody-goody little witch’ was gone.’ 'We could finally stand a chance now that the extra weight is gone’ and, this is the best part, 'Fuck Kurosaki. You were useless, all the way to the end. I’m glad I could spend my final moments not looking at that face.’”

Ruri felt like she had been struck, hard. Who could have possibly said something so terrible…?

“You’re… you’re lying! There’s no way anyone could have-!”

Yuuri quietly reached into his jacket pocket, his slim fingers pulling out a card, holding it’s back towards her, stunning her to silence.

“Do you wish to find out?” he said quietly, “who it was that said those terrible things about you?”

Ruri couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. On the other side of that card was someone she had trusted, someone that had been with her in Heartland, and yet…

She could feel her heart dropping into her stomach.

“No? Hmmm, very well then.” Yuuri moved the card into his other hand and tore the card right down the middle, much to Ruri’s horror. She covered her mouth with her hands, trying to keep herself from screaming.

“Isn’t this what they deserved, dear princess?” He tore the card again, the sound of tearing paper like nails on a chalkboard. She could feel the tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Exacting punishment on those who dare to insult the fair queen! A fitting end! Don’t you agree, my dear!?” He laughed loudly, tearing the card into smaller and smaller pieces.

“Stop it!!” Ruri screamed, coming towards him to rip the card from his hand.

Yuuri threw the remaining pieces into the air like confetti, and pushed the girl into the wall, holding her face with his nails digging into her flesh while his other hand braced her shoulder. Ruri grabbed his hand on her face, trying to pull it back. It felt like he was trying to choke her.

“Don’t you agree, my dear?” he repeated as she tried to breathe, “A fitting end for a traitor, a usurper! Would your little friend react the same way once he’s captured? Would he throw away his scarf if it meant that he would live and you died?”

“Never!!” Ruri choked.

“Is that so!” He tightened his grip while Ruri choked out a scream.

“My lord Yuuri!” A voice called from the hall, causing both of them to freeze.

“The Professor wishes to see you, sir. He said it was urgent!”

Yuuri tsked, a quiet curse under his breath. He looks back at Ruri for one moment before dropping her unceremoniously on the floor, the girl holding her neck and coughing. Yuuri then walked out the door, having a brief look at the Obelisk soldier at the door.

“Make sure she finishes her plate and doesn’t regurgitate it all. That’s an order. I will return this evening to make sure you haven’t screwed up anything.”

“Sir!”

Ruri could barely hear the exchange, instead crawling on the floor to pick up the torn card pieces, tears filling her eyes as she couldn’t put the face together, the face now distorted and destroyed beyond recognition. Maybe it was better if she didn’t know who it was. Still, it didn’t stop her tears, looking at those torn pieces. She sat on her knees, covering her face with her hands and sobbed quietly over the loss, wondering forlornly how someone could be that cruel.


End file.
